Donald Trump towards stopping aid to Ukraine, direct and indirect .
The dramatic clash that unfolded yesterday in the Oval Office with Volodymyr Zelensky was just the appetizer of the US administration's decisive change of pace on the conflict in Ukraine .
Administration sources have said that Trump is considering halting all ongoing military aid shipments, including billions of dollars worth of radar, vehicles, munitions and missiles that are ready and waiting to be sent to Ukraine .
In addition, a U.S. administration official told The New York Times that Trump may also decide to end indirect support for Kiev, which includes intelligence sharing . The newspaper also cited indirect aid as other types of military funding, training of Ukrainian troops and pilots, and the use of a U.S. military base in Germany that hosts a call center that handles international aid to Kiev .
"If you are not willing to deal with Russia, we will leave you alone," Trump threatened Zelensky yesterday, warning him. "If we pull out, you will have to deal with it on your own and I don't think it will go very well. Without our weapons, you would have lost the war in 15 days."
Zelensky , in an interview with Fox News after the clash, thanked the US for its support: "You helped us survive." He did not apologize, but admitted that "without American help it will be very difficult to push Russia back" and stressed that he does not want to lose the partnership with Washington. He said "of course relations can be mended," but Trump used much harsher tones , accusing Zelensky of wanting to continue to "fight, fight, fight" and of having "overestimated the cards in his possession." If the Ukrainian leader wants to return to the negotiating table, the tycoon warned, "he must tell me that he wants peace, that he no longer wants to wage war." And this presupposes, Trump stressed yesterday in the meeting with Zelensky, "compromising with Putin and being willing to make concessions."
(Unioneonline/L)